Dot Earth Blog: Experts Foresee No Detectable Health Impact from Fukushima Radiation

The levels of exposure to radiation following the leaks and explosions at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in 2011 were so low that they led today to this important conclusion from experts convened in Vienna by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation:

It is unlikely to be able to attribute any health effects in the future among the general public and the vast majority of workers.

Scientists had met all week to make final adjustments to a report on Fukushima radiation and health that will be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly later this year.

The findings are even more definitive on the lack of risk than those in a World Health Organization report on the nuclear incident in February. An Associated Press account from a news conference following the meeting describes the difference:

Wolfgang Weiss, a senior member of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, ?suggested the UNSCEAR study, carried out by 80 experts and with the involvement of five international organisations including the United Nations health agency, was based on information covering a longer period after the accident.

?So they (the WHO) didn?t have the full picture. We don?t have the full picture either but we have more than one year in addition,? he said.

Here?s more from the news release issued by the United Nations committee:

The additional exposures received by most Japanese people in the first year and subsequent years due to the radioactive releases from the accident are less than the doses received from natural background radiation (which is about 2.1 mSv per year). This is particularly the case for Japanese people living away from Fukushima, where annual doses of around 0.2 mSv from the accident are estimated, arising primarily through ingestion of radionuclides in food.

No radiation-related deaths or acute effects have been observed among nearly 25,000 workers (including TEPCO employees and contractors) involved at the accident site.

Given the small number of highly exposed workers, it is unlikely that excess cases of thyroid cancer due to radiation exposure would be detectable. Special health examinations will be given to workers with exposures above 100 mSv including annual monitoring of the thyroid, stomach, large intestine and lung for cancer as a means to monitor for potential late radiation-related health effects at the individual level.

The assessment also concluded that although the rate of exposures may have exceeded the levels for the onset of effects on plants and animals several times in the first few months following the accident, any effects are expected to be transient in nature, given their short duration. In general, the exposures on both marine and terrestrial non-human biota were too low for observable acute effects. [Read the rest.]

Of course, this is unlikely to reduce nuclear fears related to the disaster, given the deep roots of feelings about such risks. The factors shaping the large ?dread to risk ratio? are only marginally affected by evolving science.

I also don?t imagine that Nancy Grace at CNN will provide an update to viewers of her fear-mongering proclamations about danger to Americans. But hopefully the news division at CNN, at least, will report on this welcome news.

To see the impact of fears on the ground in Japan, I recommend watching ?In Japan, a Portrait of Mistrust,? a short ?Op Doc? produced for The Times on public fears of contaminated food.

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/experts-foresee-no-detectable-health-impact-from-fukushima-radiation/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Music Review: Indie Round-Up ? Paper Bird, Bethesda, Jerry Castle ...

Paper Bird, Rooms

Here?s an unusual-sounding band that mixes Afro-pop, Andrews Sisters harmonies, unexpected rhythms, and psychedelia (as in their song ?Seaside Lullaby?), and everything sounds real, not synthesized, not Auto-tuned. In multipart harmonies the group?s multiple singers sail simple words and phrases to and fro on seas of sound that take them far from their essential meanings.

Some of the lyrics don?t make any sense whatsoever; I recommend not trying. This music is all about rhythm, harmony, and inertia. Individually the voices are modest, even on the weak side; together they build coruscating murals of colorful, un-pin-downable meaning.

The album is called Rooms to suggest that each song is like a different room in a house. It feels to me like one of those houses college kids colonize and transform into theatrical wonderlands of music, color, aroma, and fitful love, one of those places you can love to lose yourself in when you?re in the right youthful frame of mind where everything still seems possible. Listen with an open mind.

Bethesda, The Reunion

I?ve been wondering how long the appeal of the current crop of loud-acoustic (for want of a better term), sort-of-folk bands like Mumford and Songs and The Lumineers will last. This oddball sub-genre of music revels in punchy rhythmic elements and un-folk-like dynamic extremes, but if there are drums, they are not the highly processed skins of today?s rock and pop. The popularity of these bands lies, surely, in their fusion of the urgent energy of rock with acoustic-roots authenticity. But will it be a lasting evolution in taste, or a fad? History suggests the latter.

Bethesda is a drum-heavy, semi-electric exemplar of the style. They?re a wordy band, too, but Shanna Delaney?s lead vocals are so tightly threaded into the dense arrangements that on first listen my brain registered no more than a phrase here and there. The music carries a lot of drama, and on further listens I found myself wanting words to match and not hearing them.

Full of joyous shouts, sea-shanty fire, and pleasantly incongruous prettiness courtesy of Delaney?s sunny voice and Christopher Black?s warm fiddle, this energetic collection can?t fail to please fans of that Grammy-winning, en vogue dynamic-folk style.

Jerry Castle, Desperate Parade

I long ago lost what little patience I had for cookie-cutter country music clich?. You know what I mean: songs about trucks, lost love, shopping-mall Jesus. The first few bars of Jerry Castle?s new CD and the title of its last song (?Nashville Nights?) suggested that that glitzy plastic universe might be his, too. But as it turns out, the songs on Desperate Parade have a rough-edged sincerity that doesn?t feel by-the-books at all.

It?s not that there?s surprising originality in the lyrics; it?s that almost the moment Castle starts to sing, you can tell this work wasn?t furiously shined and polished to within an inch of its life. His slightly growly, refreshingly unprocessed voice, which in its lower register can sound a little like Steve Earle but other times has a smoother clarity, convinces, and the songs ? some of which he wrote alone, others with a thankfully small coterie of co-writers ? resonate with the spirit of actual human feeling, calling upon the listener?s emotions without the blatant manipulation written into typical commercial Nashville product. Even when he?s singing full voice, he sings like he?s talking to you, whether it?s an uptempo rocker like ?Precious Time,? a gentle folk-pop number like ?Calm? or ?Spiral Stairs,? a ballad like ?Say Yes,? a mid-tempo rocker like ?My Style of Crazy,? or even the tense, vaguely psychedelic ?Close to You,? one of my favorites despite its not having much meat on its bones.

You?ve probably picked up from the preceding that stylistically and compositionally this is a far more ?normal? project than the others in today?s round-up. That?s not a bad thing, of course. Now and then Castle tries too hard to fit the skin of everything that rootsy country music has done before, as in ?So Far From Heaven? and ?Nashville Nights.? The anti-jingoistic ?Star Spangled Lies? might not please some of today?s Tea Party ?patriots.?

But this is a good dose of sustenance for country music fans looking for something more earthy than what typically plays on country radio.

Jon Sobel is an Executive Editor of Blogcritics as well as lead editor of the Culture section. As a writer he contributes most often to Culture, where he reviews NYC theater; he also covers interesting music releases and writes a semi-regular round-up of reviews of independent albums. He writes the blog Park Odyssey, for which he is visiting and blogging every park in New York City?over a thousand of them. Through Oren Hope Marketing and Copywriting you can hire him to write or edit whatever marketing or journalistic materials your heart desires. By night he's a working musician: lead singer, songwriter, and bass player for Whisperado, a member of other bands as well, and a sideman.

Source: http://blogcritics.org/music-review-indie-round-up-paper-bird-bethesda-jerry-castle/

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'The 100' Diet Claims Weight Loss by Restricting Calories From Sugar

May 30, 2013 7:08am

ABC News? Juju Chang and Taylor Behrendt report:

Low-carb diets have been popular for years, but a new low-carb diet caters specifically to carb lovers by allowing them to eat cake and cookies and other carb favorites as long as they restrict the sugar.

Jorge Cruise, who wrote the new diet book ??The 100,? which outlines how to restrict sugar, claims hundreds of people who?ve tried his diet lost an average of 18 pounds in two weeks.

Cruise met with ABC News? Juju Chang at the Trump SoHo in Manhattan to explain the science behind the approach.

?It?s all about the insulin,? he said. ?Everyone thinks weight loss is all about eat less, exercise more ? a calorie is a calorie and as much as I love equality, I?m not abiding equality when it comes to calories. Not all calories are the same.?

So on Cruise?s regimen, dieters can?t eat more than 100 sugar calories a day.

?There are new ways to have your cake and eat it too, literally ?? he said.

But it?s not that simple. Common foods that may seem healthy are loaded with hidden sugar, and reading nutrition labels can be tricky.

?So here?s the total formula, bottom line: total carbs times four,? he said. ?Total carbs times four will tell you how many sugar calories. ? Say it?s 20 total carbs in an apple. Times it by four, you?re looking at 80 sugar calories.?

For example, Cruise said, one serving of brown rice ? about one-fourth of a cup ? has 35 grams of carbs. Multiply that by four, and you?re already over your daily limit of sugar calories.

Some surprising foods ? such as whipped cream, half and half ?and red wine, which has only 14 sugar calories per glass? ? don?t pose a problem on this diet.

For people who love carbs, Cruise says they can swap out high-carb wheat flour for almond flour.

?The 100?Diet Recipes

Skinny Muffin

? cup ground flax

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon ?cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 egg

1 packet Stevia/Truvia

Optional: ?2 tbsp. walnuts added to the mixture

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a coffee mug. Microwave for 50 seconds. Serve with butter. Complete the breakfast with coffee with some half and half. Contains no sugar calories.

Fried Chicken

2 chicken breasts

2 cups coconut flour

1 egg

Coconut oil

Directions

Preheat the coconut oil in a skillet. Slice the chicken breasts in half. In a bowl, beat the egg, then dip the chicken in egg, then in coconut flour. Fry until golden brown on each side.

Fried chicken serves four, and has no sugar calories.

Chocolate Lace Cookies

2 stick butter, softened

2/3 cup Truvia baking blend

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup almond flour

? cup unsweetened whey protein powder

? cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

? teaspoon salt

4 ounces dark chocolate (chopped)

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all ingredients, then spoon?heaping teaspoons 2 ?inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes.

Makes as many as 24 cookies, depending on how large the portions are on the cookie sheet. Contains no sugar calories.

?? Skinny Muffin recipe from ?The 100? by Jorge Cruise. Reprinted with permission by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins. Other recipes Courtesy of Jorge Cruise, JorgeCruise.com.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/05/30/the-100-diet-claims-weight-loss-by-restricting-calories-from-sugar/

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Ousted 'Voice' singer to Levine: 'Don't feel bad'

TV

Brittany Frederick TODAY contributor

20 hours ago

Not so long ago, Judith Hill and Sarah Simmons were both strong candidates to win season four of ?The Voice.? On Tuesday night, both were axed from the hit singing competition.

Their reactions were vastly different.

?I was a little shocked,? admitted Judith after the show, ?but I think it was also a good, good lesson.?

Her blind audition was so strong that "The Voice" used it to promote the season premiere back in March. Yet she acknowledged that her version of the will.i.am and Justin Bieber song ?#thatPower? failed to connect with the voting public, even as she defended her decision to take the track in a funk direction.

?I don't think anything went wrong musically. I think that it was really one of my more exciting performances,? she said. ?I think that if a song is a lot more familiar, has a lot more pop sensibilities, I think that America tends to draw more to that than something they're not used to.?

So what lesson did Judith learn from her ?Voice? elimination? ?I think that I've learned more about America,? she explained. ?I've learned more about just how they receive music, and how to really make sure everything is something they can relate to.?

Teammate Sarah was much less surprised when her name was called. ?I just felt surrendered,? she told TODAY.com. ?You can't complain at all with this. I have no negative thing to say about it. It was an adrenaline rush and it was a taste of my dream.?

In fact, Sarah found herself calming down their coach, Adam Levine.

?He was really upset,? she explained. ?He wanted to talk to us outside (after the show).?

That discussion revolved around selecting Gotye?s ?Somebody That I Used To Know? for what became Sarah?s final performance on the ?Voice? stage. ?For the live rounds, I've basically chosen all of my songs (in) collaboration with (Adam), but for this one, he chose it for me,? she continued. ?I know he was feeling really bad that I was going home.

?I told him 'Please don't feel bad, because I've never worked so hard in my life on a freaking song.' I told him it challenged me and it stretched me.?

She left the show with high praise for her Grammy-winning coach. ?He?s amazing,? she enthused. ?I know he wants to stay in contact, which is awesome. He's a really good person. I'm really grateful to know him.?

Even ?Voice? host Carson Daly admitted to being stunned by the exits of Judith and Sarah, but he also suggested there was something to be gleaned from the development. ?I was surprised. I was surprised at Judith probably more than Sarah, because she's been just such a frontrunner from our eyes,? he admitted.

?But once we go live and we turn the power of the show over to America, there's something liberating about that. If you?re shocked about (Tuesday night's) results, then maybe there's something about America and the way they think and feel that you don't know about.?

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/ousted-voice-singer-coach-adam-levine-please-dont-feel-bad-6C10109736

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'Actors Studio' host James Lipton: I was a pimp

Celebs

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

3 hours ago

Getty Images file

James Lipton.

James Lipton has interviewed countless celebrities about their jobs on his long-running Bravo series "Inside the Actors Studio." But that doesn't mean that the 86-year-old (who has also appeared on TV shows including "Arrested Development") can't trump all of them with one of his own former jobs: As a pimp in Paris in the 1950s.

As he told Parade magazine, "It was only a few years after the war. Paris was different then, still poor. Men couldn't get jobs and, in the male chauvinist Paris of that time, the women couldn't get work at all. It was perfectly respectable for them to go into 'le milieu.'?

The "underworld," literally -- but that meant prostitution. "Young women desperately needed money for various reasons," he said. "(They) were beautiful and young and extraordinary" -- and "inspected medically" each week.

He was cleared by those who ran "le milieu" ("otherwise they would have found me floating in the Seine") and ended up representing an entire bordello of ladies of the night. "I did a roaring business, and I was able to live for a year," he said. "That's how I lived. I was going through my rights of passage, no question about it. It was a great year of my life."

Lipton went on to hold many other jobs -- including writer for soap operas, including "Another World" and "Guiding Light" -- before establishing a non-credit class at the Actors Studio Drama School and starting up the TV show in 1994. It will air its 250th episode on May 29.

Still, despite his experience in 1950s Paris, Lipton says a person shouldn't pay for sex: "I think if you can't earn it on your own, then you don't deserve it."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/inside-actors-studio-host-james-lipton-i-was-pimp-paris-6C10109474

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Music review: Ciara feat. Nicki Minaj "I'm Out" - She Knows

In a page taken directly out of The National Enquirer, the latest and smallest bit of drama emerged on the release of a song. Apparently, Ciara and Rihanna have been feuding, and a line?? yes, just one ? has stirred the pot.

But take it straight from the horse's mouth, Ms. Nicki Minaj herself (when she made it clear via Twitter), that Ciara's latest single, "I'm Out," is not an attack on Rihanna.

Nicki cleared the air with this lovely message geared to BET on the social network:

"Da&n fam, I wld expect a black channel to actually understand rap bars. Song is a male bashing song. FOH@106andpark @ciara @rihanna?

Rihanna loves Twitter drama >>

Well, now that you are caught up on the drama surrounding Ciara's most recent try at a "Goodies"-level comeback, we can actually focus on what matters??? the music.

So I made a small jab at Ciara's inability to drop a hit similar to her freshman debut, but "Body Party" did do a decent job of coming close. While I'm still not convinced this track will surpass fan's expectations, it is a sassy and fierce track. "I'm Out" appears to be actually less about Rihanna, and more about empowering women post a messy breakup.

Ciara has a "caramel" way of oozing her presence onto a track, doesn't she? She's sensual, but full of sex appeal, and brings a summer-ready single to our doorstep pre-packaged for the club. And while I'm usually ready with an artillery of insults against Minaj, she does come close to killing it on this song.

Nicki may have more time to make music given she may have an expiry date on American Idol >>

Oh, and in case you care, and want to see the famous one line that has got people creating unnecessary and predictable celebrity drama? Nicki raps:

"You gon? play me, on Instagram trying to shade me"

Rihanna reportedly made jabs at Ciara on the picture-sharing network. Wonder what started it? Ciara doesn't seem to know. Maybe Rihanna was annoyed at Ciara's latest pics on what she ate for dinner and lost it? All I know is, I can't keep up. Their feud has been thought to have stemmed from a 2011 comment Ciara made on E!'s Fashion Police, to which Rihanna retaliated with a harsh tweet.

But if you couldn't care less for celebrity gossip and care more for new music, and a possible summer hit, check out the track below!

Care about music? Want to stay updated on all the latest news on new releases? Sign up for our newsletter! >>

Photo courtesy of Brian To/WENN.com

Get that music playlist summer ready with new music! Check out these reviews:

Robin Thicke "4 The Rest of My Life"
Kanye West "New Slaves"
Emblem3 "Chloe"

Source: http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/994963/music-review-ciara-feat-nicki-minaj-im-out

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Aqua is a major international Earth Science satellite mission centered at NASA.

Aqua is a major international Earth Science satellite mission centered at NASA. Launched on May 4, 2002, the satellite has six different Earth-observing instruments on board and is named for the large amount of information being obtained about water in the Earth system from its stream of approximately 89 Gigabytes of data a day. The water variables being measured include almost all elements of the water cycle and involve water in its liquid, solid, and vapor forms. Additional variables being measured include radiative energy fluxes, aerosols, vegetation cover on the land, phytoplankton and dissolved organic matter in the oceans, and air, land, and water temperatures. The primary science objective of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua mission is the study of Earth's interrelated physical processes with an emphasis on the water cycle. Primary variables of interest include: ocean evaporation, atmospheric water vapor, clouds, terrestrial snow, land ice, sea ice, sea surface temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture. Additional variables include: radiative energy fluxes, atmospheric temperatures, humidities, aerosols, land vegetation cover, and ocean productivity.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/F2KFN8yZUH0/http-www-youtube-com-watch-v-1jqfxzi_2xy-aqua-is-a-ma-510176180

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